Senate passes bills for special holidays in different provinces

The Senate has approved on the third and final reading bills declaring 11 special non-working holidays for local events in different provinces.

If enacted into law, House Bill Nos. 622, 5552, 1928, 6689, 5258, 6160, 5173, 5553, and 705 would declare special non-working holidays for the commemoration of the founding anniversaries of certain cities, municipalities, and provinces.

According to Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate committee on local government who sponsored the proposals, the holidays are important as these would remind locals of their communities’ histories.

“These dates, while celebrated locally, were milestones that warrant equal recognition from all Filipinos because each commemoration completes the nation’s memoir,” Angara said.

“For communities to progress, we must also consider honoring and learning from our history and the people who were part of it. This is also an occasion for them to celebrate the period when they united as one province,” he added.

The founding anniversaries included in the bill are that of Ligao, Albay (March 24); Albay province (April); Villanueva, Misamis Oriental (June 16); Agusan Del Sur (June 17); Lanao Del Norte (July 4); Cavite City (September 7); Los Baños, Laguna (September 17); Misamis Occidental (November 2); and Agoo, La Union (December 8).

House Bill No. 7044, which seeks to declare June 18 as a special non-working holiday in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, to be known as “Bacolod City Charter Day”, was also approved by the Senate.

The bill also commemorates the day President Manuel L. Quezon signed and approved Commonwealth Act No. 326, creating the City of Bacolod.

House Bill No. 5689, another proposal to declare August 2 as a special non-working holiday in Butuan, Agusan del Norte in commemoration of its charter day, was also passed.   /vvp